The Debt
by Princess Dystopia
Summary: As a student of Lady Tsunade, Sakura's goal was to keep Gaara alive and healthy. As a friend, her goal was something a little more personal. [SakuraxGaara One-Shot]


It wasn't as if it were anything personal. Their relationship was anything but personal. She was a Konohagakure Medical Kunoichi and he was the almighty Kazekage of Sunagakure. Business matters only, strictly, absolutely. But when news of Lord Gaara's capture by the Akatsuki reached the pink-haired girl's ears, it suddenly felt very personal.

Sakura had done everything she could, but ultimately stood by silently, her emerald eyes settled on his lifeless body. She couldn't bear to check for a pulse through his cold skin. She knew it just as well as everything else. Gaara was dead.

And again, Naruto had come to her rescue with the help of Lady Chiyo. Within minutes, the young villager leader was conscious, sitting up, and horribly confused. Sakura's foot had inched forward, but something within herself held her body back from wrapping her arms around his neck in a mess of tears.

Strictly business. Her mission was complete.

"Really, Miss Sakura, you don't have to stay. I know you have work to do back in Konoha. I'm fine," Gaara muttered from the hospital bed. Bandages haphazardly covered his body and face, shielding the various cuts and bruises from any more injuries.

"Seriously, drop the 'miss,' Gaara," she replied, filling his fifth cup of water in the past hour. "I don't mind. Besides, Lady Tsunade insisted I stay for a week just in case something happens with your health." The thought made her shudder.

As she gently placed the water down on his bedside table, Gaara decided to finally quit pushing the matter. The girl was extremely stubborn and after three years of knowing her, he was just now realizing it. However, as much as she was stubborn, she was passionate about keeping people healthy, especially himself for the time being. Besides, having a Medical Shinobi of her skill hanging around the hospital was a great asset.

"I am in debt to you," he whispered, bringing the cup to his chapped lips. He had never felt so thirsty in his life, nor as tired. Luckily, peaceful sleep had finally been introduced to him and he believed it was one of the greatest pleasures in the world.

She let out a nervous chuckle, closing the window. A cold breeze was beginning to slowly creep its way in. "I don't mind," she repeated, giving him a reassuring smile. "I'm just doing my job."

Gaara's eyes strayed from hers for a moment. Then, ever so quietly, he suggested, "What about dinner?"

"Oh, you're hungry? Sure, I can go get you some—"

"No, I meant, when I'm discharged, I can take you to dinner to repay you."

Her body froze, her hand on the doorknob. A heavy, fiery blushed settled onto her pale cheeks. "Um," she squeaked out. Was Gaara, the highly thought of Kazekage whom girls were beginning to throw themselves at, asking her on a date? No, this was strictly for business purposes. "Ye-Yeah, sure. Dinner sounds good."

As Sakura made her way down the empty hospital hallway, her heart beat loudly in her ears. Her knees felt like jelly. Her palms, no matter how much she wiped them on her blouse, sweated profusely. A stress headache was commencing a dull pounding above her right eye.

It had been a long day.

(-)(-)(-)

"What was I thinking?!" Gaara hissed to himself for the tenth time in the comfort of his own home. The hospital had released him after two dreadful, bedridden days. His body ached for movement, so he paced back and forth in front of his brother, who seemed too focused on his puppets sprawled out on the floor before him to give any attention to the redhead.

"Ah, don't even worry about it, Gaara," Kankuro replied, much to the younger sibling's surprise. "So you asked a girl out on a date, and it happened to be Sakura. Not a big deal. Just make sure to let her talk the entire time and you'll probably get a little action at the end of the night. She seems like the kind of girl who would put out that fast."

"That's hardly the way to talk about the girl who saved your life, idiot!" Temari screeched from the kitchen. "If it weren't for her, you'd be six feet under."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the puppeteer muttered to himself, nibbling on his bottom lip in concentration. "All I'm saying is that asking a girl out is natural. Just, you know, play it cool. And look nice. Its really easy."

Two blonde spikes of hair appeared from around the corner. In a low, sarcastic voice, Temari asked, "Then why haven't you succeeded?"

Settling himself into a chair, Gaara buried his face into his hands, rubbing his tired eyes with his palms. There never seemed to be enough sleep now. "What was I thinking?"

(-)(-)(-)

Sakura lifted the back of her hair, studied it in the mirror, and let it drop for the fourth time. Thousands of questions raced through her head within seconds. Bun or ponytail? Ponytail or down? Straight or wavy? What kind of food is there going to be? What are they going to talk about? Did that dress look okay? What if Gaara wasn't going to dress formally? What if this was something casual?

In all honesty, she hadn't been this nervous since her early encounters with Sasuke. The name still sent her stomach into twists, but it was different than before. The butterflies that fluttered about when he was near, or said her name, or even looked at her used to be an exciting feeling. Something new every single time. Something that could have possibly led to, well, who knows? But now, thinking about the Uchiha gave her a new sensation in her gut. It was painful, the way her stomach tricked her into thinking she was going to puke. It wasn't that she hated him. It was that she was filled with too much regret to even think about at times.

"Sakura?" a muffled voice called from the other side of the door. Only then did the Kunoichi realize someone had been knocking for at least two minutes.

"Coming, coming!" she called. In her head, she imagined greeting the Kazekage with a friendly smile, but as soon as her eyes settled on the man before her, her smile disappeared.

"Are you ready?" Gaara asked, secretly as awestricken as she was. There was absolutely no way he would show it as obviously as she did, though.

Sakura looked beautiful, as she always did, but this was something entirely new. As she gave a quick nod and turned to lock the door to her hotel room, Gaara tried to understand how a girl could go from looking worn down, exhausted, and stressed to the point of tears to this incredible creature of grace. Everything about her changed. Her pink hair fell perfectly to the top of her shoulders, the dress she sported complimented her hips and chest, and the subtle makeup gave her eyes an extra gleam that he had only saw once, back when the Uchiha was still around.

The walk to the small, almost secluded restaurant wasn't as awkward as Sakura thought it would be. It was completely silent, but it gave her time to sneak quick glances at Gaara. He looked years older without the Kazekage hat that everyone knew was too big for him, and yet nobody offered to resize it for him. Fortunately, he hadn't worn a complete suit with a tie and vest like she was dreading. If he had, then she would've been terribly underdressed. Instead, he wore midnight black slacks she assumed Temari ironed for him, because his usual Kazekage attire was often disheveled and slightly wrinkled. A maroon shirt fit against his chest perfectly, as if it was part of his body.

The host seemed more than excited to tend to the two. With a quick, "Oh, Lord Kazekage! Yes, we have your table right over here. Good evening, Miss Haruno!" they were seated, handed menus, and given glasses of water, including an extra one for Gaara.

Much to Sakura's dismay, the night began to fly by. Food was ordered and a simple icebreaker turned into a deep and rather emotional conversation.

Gaara leaned over, his chin resting comfortably in his palms, his elbows propped up on the table. He stared at her intently as Sakura's mouth formed the words that were beginning to sound somewhat like music to him. He wasn't sure if it was the complimentary sake given to the two, or just how he was finally beginning to actually listen to the girl, but there was definitely some sort of melodic tone to her pitch.

"Naruto's a good kid, don't get me wrong," Sakura continued on. She felt bubbly, light, and slightly giggly. "I just can't feel that way about him, you know? He's like that annoying little brother I never wanted, but I got anyway. And besides, ever since Sasuke…" She trailed off, gently touching the rim of her glass with her fingertip. Her face felt hot. "Well, anyway, it doesn't really matter. Naruto's a great guy, but just not what I'm looking for."

Gaara waited patiently for more words, but she made it obvious that she was finished speaking. Another swig of her drink. He knew they should've slowed down, but there comes a point when everything feels too good not to drink more. They were well past that point.

"So, what about you?" Sakura asked, straightening out her back. "Have any special ladies caught the Kazekage's attention?"

What was wrong with her? It wasn't like her to delve so personally into someone's life, especially someone like Gaara. He had never shown an interest in anyone. Or, it could have been that she never noticed.

Gaara reached over, taking another piece of food from her plate. They had stepped over the boundaries of keeping their food to themselves long ago. When the waiter had delivered the food, both plates looked too good not to sneak a quick bite of each.

"Uh," he started. His lips felt numb. "Not particularly. I've certainly been getting more attention since I became Kazekage, but…" He shook his head, deciding to put the glass down. The words coming from his mouth felt slow and slurred. Did they truly sound like that?

"Surprising," Sakura muttered, returning the favor by stealing the rest of the food from Gaara's plate.

"What was that?"

"Ah, nothing!" she replied, covering her bright crimson face with her hands. Her shoulders gently shook. Why couldn't she stop giggling?

After a moment, she took her hands from her face, only to stare at the most perfect smile she'd ever seen.

(-)(-)(-)

"…and he thought he had some form of disease, so he ran crying to our father. And he just laughed at him. So, Kankuro cried even more," Gaara tried to explain, pointing to his own mouth to demonstrate exactly which tooth had fallen out of Kankuro's mouth as a child.

Sakura, who felt as if the world was spinning on a string, burst out into an uncontrollable laugh. She couldn't remember the last time her abdomen became sore from so much laughter. The reminder of how nice it felt was fantastic.

"At least his fell out!" she exclaimed. "You know that blonde bimbo back in my village? She punched my tooth out when we were little. On accident, of course. Actually, it wasn't a punch. She head-butted me. Can you believe that crap?! I don't even know what its like to naturally lose a tooth."

The restaurant had closed hours ago, so they moved their two-person party outside. The Sunagakure air was warm and comforting on their skin and the occasional gust of wind was refreshing. Gaara wasn't completely sure what time it was, but he knew it was well near midnight or 1 o'clock. It didn't matter to him that he would regret drinking so much in the morning. Everything felt perfectly okay as he sat next to Sakura. For a while, he had forgotten about his Kazekage duties, or the fact that a new enemy was on the rise, or even the slowly settling realization that Shukaku had been ripped from inside him.

As long as the drunken pink haired girl stayed by his side, nothing in the world troubled him.

Sakura covered her mouth, suppressing a soft yawn. Before Gaara had the chance to suggest returning to the inn, she held up her hands defensively. "I'm good, I'm good," she muttered. "I just haven't stayed up this late in a while."

She wasn't sure how, but although she argued about going home, they were suddenly strolling back toward the direction of the building. The sun began to peek up over the sand walls of the village. Another headache was coming on. Sadness hit her gut with the realization that Gaara would be going back to his daily life soon and she would be on her way back to Konoha. Why couldn't the night last forever?

"Thank you so much," Sakura whispered as not to wake anyone sleeping in the rooms around her. The both of them had mostly sobered up somewhere during the night, but the conversations just kept coming.

Gaara shook his head. "I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Well, you've paid back your debt to me," she said with a playful smirk. "Almost."

"Almost?"

Taking his hand in hers, she gently pulled him inside.

"I have a high interest rate. Strictly business."


End file.
